1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens barrel having a lens adjustment mechanism and a lens protection function, and an imaging apparatus with the lens barrel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a lens barrel with an optical system including a plurality of optical units, such as a zoom lens, inclinations of the optical units with respect to an optical axis may cause a deterioration of optical performance. In view of the above, in order to decrease a deterioration of optical performance, such a lens barrel that has an inclination adjustment mechanism that adjusts an inclination of, for example, a first optical unit has been discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-173413.
The lens barrel as discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-173413, however, includes no protection member that protects a lens under a condition that an imaging apparatus is stored, such that the lens may be damaged, get dusty or be stained on a lens surface thereof.
While there is one in which a cover member that covers a surface of the lens facing to an object side is fit into a lens barrel to protect the lens during a storage state of the imaging apparatus, manipulation is troublesome since a user is required to remove the cover member having fit into the lens barrel when the user uses the imaging apparatus. Further, the user is required to keep the removed cover member or to connect the cover member to the imaging apparatus with a string or the like, such that managing the removed cover member is troublesome.
Another conventional example of the lens barrel with a cover member includes one in which a sliding cover member is provided on an apparatus body of the imaging apparatus to power on/off the imaging apparatus according to a slide position of the sliding cover member.
Since the above conventional example requires rail portions for supporting the sliding cover member and a retaining mechanism for retaining the cover member while keeping the cover member closed or open, the imaging apparatus becomes larger.